


The first time Koujaku and Noiz actually went out on a date together

by DragonReine



Series: A Series of Firsts [5]
Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Canon - Anime, M/M, Post-Anime, Slow Build, Slow Burn, kounoi, noijaku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-31
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-08 15:32:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3214316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonReine/pseuds/DragonReine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Noiz still has not quite learned how to inform other people about his plans, Koujaku's customers end up learning about the relationship before Aoba does, and we come to the end of this series.</p><blockquote>
  <p>His eyes felt gritty from lack of sleep. His head was pounding so hard that painkillers barely dulled it. His body ached from all the hours spent sitting in uncomfortable chairs and taking power naps on the too-short couch in his office. He had never felt this much physical discomfort in his whole life. And yet, after a moment of staring at the ceiling, he found himself closing his eyes and abruptly laughing with relief.</p>
  <p>He was back. He was <em>finally</em> back in Midorijima. He could finally see Koujaku again. </p>
</blockquote>
            </blockquote>





	1. Noiz

**Author's Note:**

> SO. This part of _A Series of Firsts_ will be a multi-chapter story, since we're going to be switching PoVs and there's a lot of things happening in a short span of time.
> 
> This fic references previous parts of _A Series of Firsts_ , although I try to keep THAT minimal; as such, you may have to read the first four parts, in order to understand certain bits of dialogue.

_I miss you._

They were just words. Very simple, ordinary words. And yet...

It was as if they had burrowed under Noiz's skin, and they  _itched_.

He had been puzzled about the strange, tight ache in his chest that he felt each time after they'd ended their calls. Some days the ache grew nearly unbearable, and he had to fight the urge to curl up and cry, like he used to do in that forsaken room in his family's mansion.

He couldn't understand why he felt so _alone_ , despite how often they talked.

It wasn't until he had heard those words, uttered in Koujaku's voice, that he could finally identify that ache.

_I miss you._

Noiz had gone home that night and did not sleep for a long time, his mind buzzing with the sudden realisation that he  _missed_ Koujaku. He had sat in bed, studying the play of the city's flickering lights over his bedsheets, and came to the conclusion that he'd been away for far too long already.

He'd left Koujaku a message, saying he might be too busy to make their usual daily call for the next few days, and had thrown himself into preparations to leave Germany. 

Fortunately, he had already been restructuring his section of the company so that he would not necessarily need to be  _in_ the offices in order to do his work. After all, he could always control things remotely, and attend meetings through conference calls. It was a shame that his father never saw the point of introducing such conveniences to the company, as old-fashioned and outdated in thought as he was. Their company was truly behind in far too many things for Noiz's tastes.

His father would be  _furious_  once he realised that Noiz had not only left Germany more or less unannounced, but had basically dragged his entire division into the modern era. An annoyance, but a necessary one, and truthfully it didn't matter whether his father approved or not in the long run. All Noiz really needed to do was to execute all of his upgrading plans at once; he had already been introducing technological upgrades and changes in procedures slowly, so his father wouldn't notice, but truthfully short of literally tying Noiz up and throwing him in a room (not again,  _never again_ ), his father had no real power over how things were run. 

Which was why, almost 60 hours later, he found himself flicking his Coil over a sensor, and opening the door to his old penthouse in Midorijima. 

The place was virtually unchanged from the last time he was here; there was a gift basket on the coffee table, likely from the landlord, but that was about the only unfamiliar thing about the room. Leaving his luggage abandoned inside the doorway, he staggered over to the nearest couch and flopped down on it. Usagimodoki chirped; he took it out of his pocket, and let it bounce away, as it did the security scans that was in its routine during his years in Midorijima. 

His eyes felt gritty from lack of sleep. His head was pounding so hard that painkillers barely dulled it. His body ached from all the hours spent sitting in uncomfortable chairs and taking power naps on the too-short couch in his office. He had never felt this much physical discomfort in his whole life. And yet, after a moment of staring at the ceiling, he found himself closing his eyes and abruptly laughing with relief.

He was back. He was  _finally_ back in Midorijima. He could finally see Koujaku again. 

Noiz didn't know just how important that was to him until that very moment.

He heard the bouncing before he felt Usagimodoki land softly on his chest. "Status?" he asked, without opening his eyes.

"Pi! Security check, complete! Local database has been updated to latest version, all systems running A-OK!" 

Noiz made a sound of acknowledgement. A moment passed, long enough that Noiz felt himself starting to doze off, but then Usagimodoki bounced again, making another chirp. He cracked an eye open and squinted at it. "What?"

"Pi! Usagi has a question for Noiz!"

Noiz opened both eyes to stare properly at his Allmate. Usagimodoki very rarely questioned him; as such, he knew that if Usagimodoki wanted to actually say something without his prompting, it was usually something important that he had overlooked. "What is it?"

"Uhm..." Usagimodoki rocked back and forth. "Is Noiz going to stay in Midorijima for long?"

Noiz blinked, and gave Usagimodoki a suspicious look. "Why are you asking?"

"Pi! Usagi has been monitoring Noiz's mental state, and Noiz has been under stress in Germany. But Noiz's stress level has gone down when we arrived in Midorijima! Data analysis says that Midorijima is better for Noiz, pi!" Usagimodoki bounced, rolling in mid-air twice before landing; a behaviour it often exhibited when joyful. "Usagi wants Noiz to be happy, pi! So Usagi hopes Noiz will stay in Midorijima!"

"Hm." On another day, Noiz would have remained silent; his Allmate was obedient to him, after all, and he didn't need to inform it what his plans were unless it was necessary. But perhaps the tiredness was getting to him; he reached up and petted Usagimodoki, as if it were an actual rabbit instead of a robot cube. "Maybe. It's not set in stone yet, and I still have to go back to Germany every month or so, but it's likely that I will spend most of my time in Midorijima from now on."

"Pi~! That's great!"

Noiz snorted, amused in spite of himself. He had modified Usagimodoki's emotional range to be narrower and simpler than most Allmates, so he had more room to install Rhyme mods, but there was something charming about its childish delight in simple things. 

Now what, though? 

He was back in Midorijima, but how was he going to find Koujaku? Koujaku had once said that he often picked fairly random locations to set up his stall, and Noiz had not asked about how Koujaku determined his choice of location. 

Mujina? Noiz thought about it, and grimaced. Mujina would have kept tabs on the Rib teams, even if he stopped playing Rhyme; Mujina's main interest was in information gathering of a distinctly shadier kind, and Koujaku was far too influential amongst Ribsters to ignore. But that would mean contacting Mujina, and Noiz would really rather not give away the fact that he had returned to Midorijima so early.  

Maybe...

Aoba. Perhaps Aoba would have some idea of where to begin looking for Koujaku.

And Noiz would get to visit him, as well. He had heard updates on how Aoba's been doing through Koujaku, but it would be nice to see how he was, in person...

"Pi! Noiz, Noiz! Don't fall asleep on the sofa, pi!"

Usagimodoki bounced and knocked him on the chin, jolting him out of his thoughts. Noiz huffed and batted at the cube. "All right, all right, I'm getting up."

But first, a shower, and then some sleep. He could continue his thoughts in the morning, after some rest. 


	2. Noiz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Noiz meets up with Aoba again, and things don't quite work out the way he had planned.

No one recognised him when he walked down Aoyagi Avenue.

Noiz had half-expected it, but it was still a little startling to pass by some vaguely familiar faces from his Rhyme days, and to see those faces glance at him, then look away with blank indifference.

If he had walked out in his old clothes and his piercings, he suspected that he might be mobbed or approached by his old fans and foes. But in a three-piece suit and his face bare, he probably looked like just another businessman to them.

Not that businessmen were a common sight here in the Old Resident's district, even after the walls to Platinum Jail had been taken down. There were a few speculative and curious glances thrown his way when he walked past shops, but even then they seemed content to politely leave him alone when he showed no interest back, as the Japanese tend to do. It would likely take months, if not years, before the district even approached half of Platinum Jail's level of gentrification, and more people who looked like he did would populate the streets. And that was assuming its residents would allow that to happen in the first place.

It was both disconcerting and relieving to see that no one from his past was likely to notice him. Noiz wasn't sure he wanted to revisit those memories when he still couldn't feel pain, and truthfully he wasn't keen on being dragged into a Rhyme match. He had more important things to do.

Heibon Junk Shop was still in the same location he remembered; in fact, it seemed that very little had changed, if at all. He could hear what sounded like a group of laughing children inside. 

And Aoba was most likely inside as well.

He reached up and touched his ear, running his fingers over where the piercings used to be; his throat abruptly felt dry.

Nobody had recognised him earlier, but Aoba...

Would Aoba be able recognise him? 

The shrieking increased; there was a loud crash of what sounded like something metallic falling to the floor.

Well, there was no point waiting outside like a fool. Sighing, he reached out towards the handle, and opened the door.

It was like running into a wall of noise; he had not quite realised how well the door sound-proofed everything. 

Aoba was there at the counter, hunched over and looking at the computer, almost exactly in the same position as he was the last time Noiz came here. He looked up when the bell over the door rang, a friendly smile on his face. "Welcome!" he called out. His eyes rose to meet Noiz's and...

The smile vanished. Noiz could see Aoba's eyes widen, eyebrows raising up in surprise. Or perhaps it was shock. 

Well, that was one person who managed to see past his new appearance. "Yo," Noiz said in greeting.

The kids had halted in their playing to stare at him as well. "Aaaahhh!" the kid in goggles yelled, pointing at him. "It's you! That pervert with the piercings!" The other boy looked terrified, while the little girl abruptly blushed. 

Noiz rolled his eyes and walked up to Aoba, ignoring the children's shouting, although he did sidestep briefly to allow the red-faced little girl to run past him, despite her brothers' (at least, he assumed they were her brothers) protests. "I see you're still working here," he said. "And you haven't really changed much at all."

Aoba blinked, and seemed to snap out of his shock. He smiled instead, although it was a bit wider than the initial one he'd given Noiz. "Oh, you know how it is in Midorijima, we like our slow pace," he said lightly. "Can't say the same about you, though. You look really different."

Noiz made a show of looking down at himself. "Hmm, you can say that." He smirked at Aoba. "What do you think? Does this suit look good on me?"

"It looks pretty ugly, actually. I think I might throw up, it's just that gross," Aoba replied, sounding distinctly unimpressed, and Noiz smiled a little more broadly at that, feeling an unexpected glow of warmth in his chest. Because even with that tone of voice Aoba's lips were quirked with amusement, and his gaze was warm and welcoming.

It was strange to realise he missed Aoba too, although it was different from how he had missed Koujaku. "If you're going to throw up, do it away from me, this suit is still new and I'd rather not dirty it."

"Thank you for your concern, but I think I'll manage." Aoba grinned. "So, brat's all grown up now, huh? Where have you been? I haven't seen you for a few months now."

"I went back to Germany," Noiz replied. "I needed to settle some things with my family, so I started working at their company over there. Been busy with the new job, mostly. "

"Oh?" Aoba's eyebrows rose, and this time he looked properly impressed. "That's pretty amazing. Why are you back here though? Guessing from your suit, you must have been doing pretty well over there."

Noiz tilted his head, pondering how to answer that. Koujaku had mentioned before that he'd not revealed the details of their relationship to anyone, aside from Mizuki, and it had struck Noiz as a little odd. Why not tell Aoba, who was Koujaku's childhood friend? But Koujaku likely had his own reasons, and Noiz had not pried into that. If it had been up to Noiz, he would have told Aoba that he and Koujaku were boyfriends, but since Koujaku had said nothing...

Noiz sighed. "I came here to tie up a few loose ends," he said, hoping that was enough of an answer for Aoba.

"Loose ends?" Aoba echoed, clearly puzzled, but then the shop keeper's bell rang again, and there was the patter of small feet. Noiz turned, and saw the little girl from before had run towards him, her face red all the way up from her neck to her ears.

"Here!" she yelled, and shoved a crumpled envelope at him. "Take it!" 

He blinked, confused, and took the envelope, frowning as he glanced at it. "Is this a letter?"

She huffed. "Just look at it, stupid!" she shouted, before abruptly turning away, crossing her arms as she did so.

Huh. Reluctantly curious, he smoothed it out; he could sense Aoba move closer and peer over his shoulder. It appeared to be a very normal envelope, made of pink-coloured cheap paper; the kind you can buy in bulk in stationary shops...

Noiz flipped the envelope around to look at the other side. 

 _LUV LETTER_ was scrawled across it in bright red crayon.

For a moment he could only stare at the words, not quite understanding what he was seeing. After a long moment of silence, he heard Aoba snort, and then start to snicker.

"Oh, wow, would you look at that?" Aoba said, sounding entirely too gleeful. "Looks like you have a lady admirer, Noiz. That's so adorable."

Noiz gave Aoba a glare, but it only made Aoba laugh out loud instead. 

Why would the girl... _oh._  

Vaguely, he recalled running into the same girl before. Didn't he kiss her hand at the time?

He had meant to fluster her on purpose and make her run away, so he could talk to Aoba without any interruptions or curious onlookers.

But it seemed that he left an unexpected impact on her. 

He looked at the girl's back, looked at the letter in his hand, and let out a sigh. Well, this was awkward. He'd expected some of his past actions here on Midorijima to come back and bite him in the ass once he'd returned, but he had not expected  _that_ particular action with the girl to have any consequences.

Best to nip this little crush in the bud before it got too annoying.

Internally shaking his head, he put the letter in his coat pocket and bent down so he was nearly eye-level with the girl. "Hey," he said, pitching his voice to be as gentle as possible.

The girl turned, pouting, two spots of colour still visible on her cheeks. "What?" she said, tone petulant, her hands fisted and gripping her skirt tightly. The sight was quite adorable, really.

He smiled, genuinely amused in spite of himself, and patted her on the head. "Thank you."

Her eyes widened, and her entire face turned back to the color of a ripe tomato. "D-don't assume it means something!" she stammered out. "Y-y-y-you don't have to read it or anything!"

He chuckled. "Yes, yes," he said agreeably.

"Oi!" Abruptly, a pair of arms blocked his view of the girl, and he found himself looking at the two other kids instead.

"You can't talk to our sis like that!" the boy in the goggles shouted, while the boy in the animal costume nodded fervently. "You gotta fight us if you wanna talk to her!" 

"Yeah!" the costumed one yelled. "You gotta fight us!"

Noiz looked past them at the little girl, who'd put her hands on her hips and had rolled her eyes ceiling-ward. "You boys are stupid," she muttered.

Stifling the urge to laugh, Noiz waited until he caught her gaze, and gave her a conspirational wink.

"Sorry," he said. "I already have someone special, so I can't accept your confession. But I'm sure you'll grow up to be a fine lady someday, and meet someone who can care for you properly."

She flushed again, and then tilted her head back, giving him a haughty look. "Hmph! I already know that, stupid. I will find a better man than you. Just you wait!" With those words, she turned on her heel and smartly marched out of the shop, head held up high.

"Ah, Mio! Wait for us!" The two boys chased after her, barely sparing the time to send one last set of glares to Noiz before they were out of the shop as well.

Noiz let out a relieved breath and straightened to his feet. It was only then that he noticed the weird silence in the shop, and turned to look at Aoba. 

Aoba was leaning on the counter, head propped up by an arm, and he giving was giving Noiz a very odd stare, like he was seeing Noiz differently. "What?" Noiz asked, feeling a little unnerved. 

"Hmm..." Aoba narrowed his eyes. "I didn't know you can talk like that. That was almost diplomatic of you."

Noiz frowned. "What's so strange about that? It's the truth."

"The truth?" Aoba raised an eyebrow. "Even the 'someone special' bit?"

"Yes."

Aoba stared at Noiz as that little fact sunk in, and then his jaw dropped; he looked like he was at a loss for words. 

 _Honestly._ Aoba can be weirdly  _slow_ at times. Noiz shrugged. "I did say I needed to tie up some loose ends, didn't I?"

"Oh." Aoba's eyes widened. " _Oh._ So you have a girlfriend in Midorijima?" 

Noiz shook his head. "Boyfriend. Not girlfriend." He won't say Koujaku's name, but revealing that much shouldn't hurt.

"Boyfrie― _hah?_ " Aoba practically shot out of his chair. "Wait a minute,  _wait a minute_ , so that time when you kis―you actually swing that way?"

"And what if I do?" 

Aoba blinked at him, mouth opening and closing, looking like a landed fish for a while, before he grimaced and shook his head. "Never mind. I thought you were just a skinship kinda guy and...that took me by surprise for a little bit."

Noiz let out a tired sigh. Aoba looked completely discomfited, and Noiz took pity on him. "It wasn't anyone's business to know what my preferences are," Noiz said. "And there wasn't any reason for me to tell you, before."

"True." Aoba gave him a half-smile. "Still, I wouldn't have guessed that you would come back to Midorijima for your  _special someone_."

Noiz hummed at Aoba's teasing voice, refusing to rise to that particular bait. Speaking of special someone... "Do you know where Koujaku might be working today?"

"Koujaku?" Aoba frowned. "I think I saw him just a few blocks away, you just need to take the shortcut to...wait. Why are you looking for Koujaku?" Aoba's eyes narrowed. "Are you going to fight him or something? I won't let you do that."

Noiz clicked his tongue. Honestly, this was annoying. He hated having to dodge questions, but for Koujaku's sake he had to keep that particular secret from Aoba. "I just wanted to talk to him. He's one of the loose ends I mentioned."

Aoba gave him a sharp stare. "Is that so?"

"Yes."

"You won't fight him?"

"I promise, it's just to talk."

The look Aoba sent him was still full of suspicion, but Aoba rolled his eyes and pulled up a map on his Coil. "Fine. I'll tell you where he is, but if I hear that you two got into a fight again, I will find you both and kick your asses, got it?"

"Got it," Noiz murmured, and pulled up his own copy of Midorijima's map. "Now tell me where he might be."

* * *

Aoba's directions pointed him towards a street on the edge of what he knew was Benishigure territory. "He's usually always somewhere on Benishigure turf, actually," Aoba had said. "It's not really as random as you'd think it might be, it's just that their turf is very large, for such a small Rib team." 

"What if he's not on the street?" Noiz had asked.

"Eh, he rarely moves once he has chosen a spot. Even so, you'll know it when you've found him. He's super popular so it's  _really_ obvious when he's busy at work." Aoba rolled his eyes. "Just look for the crowd of shrieking women."

 _Crowd_ , Aoba had said. Noiz had thought that Aoba was just being dramatic, and he had expected maybe ten, a little more at most. But when Noiz had reached the street and saw the sheer number of people gathered around Koujaku, he had immediately back-pedalled and ducked into an alleyway, where he could observe the crowd of giddy, giggling admirers unseeen. 

He knew Koujaku was popular, but this was the first time he actually could  _see_ that with his own two eyes, instead of gathering info based on hearsay and awkward camera angles.

"Are you kidding me?" he muttered. "Just how many people are queued up there? I can't even tell who are the clients and who are the onlookers."

Usagimodoki chirped from where it had been hovering over his shoulder. "Analysis complete, pi! Comparing data with records from two months ago, Koujaku has increased his average number of queued clients by 86 per―"

"Shush. I don't need to know that right now." He stared at the crowd―and Koujaku right in the middle of it―for a while longer, before he closed his eyes and thumped his head back against the wall behind him. 

Koujaku was tall for a Japanese man, at least a head taller than most of the crowd, so it was easy to see his face. He was smiling, laughing at something that someone had said; he practically _d_ _azzled_ with charm, and even at a distance, Noiz found his own heart skipping a beat at the sight of Koujaku in his element, practising his craft and entertaining his clientèle with grace and skill. 

Noiz could feel his palms start to sweat, and his legs felt as if they were rooted to the ground. He had wanted to surprise Koujaku, but the idea of approaching Koujaku  _right now_ abruptly felt like the most terrifying thing in the world, especially with so many eyes as witnesses. What if he made a fool of himself? He didn't want to embarrass Koujaku like that, in front of so many people. 

"Noiz! Noiz, you're crushing the roses, pi!" 

Noiz flinched, almost dropping the bouquet in his hands when he immediately relaxed his grip. The sudden movement sent their perfume wafting past his nose, nearly making him sneeze. He'd bought them on a whim, when he had passed by a florists' store and saw them in the window. The large, deep red blooms had caught his gaze, and reminded him of Koujaku's eyes. 

The florist had smiled and willingly gathered the best of them into a bouquet. "That's a lot of roses you're buying," she had teased as she tied on a bright red ribbon. "It must be for a really special someone, huh?" 

"You could say that," he'd said, but didn't elaborate. 

Noiz hugged the bouquet close. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, and he had thought Koujaku would like them. But the people around Koujaku might think it strange for a man to gift something so obviously romantic to another man; Noiz wouldn't care, but Koujaku might, and that was what kept Noiz from moving. The last thing he wanted to do was jeopardise Koujaku's work. 

Just as he thought that maybe he should just go and find another opportunity to approach Koujaku, he heard a loud girlish squeal. He looked towards the direction where the sound had come from, just in time to see a girl practically fling herself at Koujaku, her arms wrapping around his neck so she was more-or-less hanging from him. Koujaku stumbled a bit with the momentum, but he was laughing and patting her on the back―

Noiz felt something in his chest grow cold. He suddenly felt the need to go over there and pull Koujaku away from that woman. 

"Noiz! Noiz, your pulse rate has suddenly increa―pi! Noiz, wait for me!"

He had not realised that he had started moving until he had shouldered aside one of Koujaku's admirers. She gasped aloud, making other people turn to look, and they abruptly stepped aside, clearing a path for him to walk through.

Good. It saved him the effort of pushing them away. 

Koujaku was not facing him directly, so he didn't notice when Noiz stopped right behind him, and he had still not moved away that woman. 

Noiz felt a little dizzy, his heart beating so loudly that he could feel the pulsing of the vein in his neck, and his throat felt too tight, but he forced the words that he wanted to say past it:

"Well, it looks like you are having fun over there, Koujaku."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Skinship" = physically affectionate, which is really not a common thing in Eastern cultures. 
> 
> The roses that Noiz got for Koujaku are of the ["Chrysler Imperial" cultivar](http://www.1001-landscaping-ideas.com/chrysler-imperial-roses.html). These are really big, showy roses with a powerful scent, and make great cut flowers; one bloom is enough to perfume a room. I like their petals, really soft and velvety. 
> 
> (I would also like to add that Noiz wasn't being accurate about their color's similarity to Koujaku's eyes, since the roses are dark red to the point of being almost purple at times, but he's not exactly an artist with a trained eye, haha)
> 
> And...uh, oops. Not quite the happy reunion that Noiz thought it might be, huh.


	3. Koujaku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Koujaku is quick-witted enough to save face, and Noiz demonstrates that he really doesn't have much shame at all.

"Well, it looks like you are having fun over there, Koujaku."

The words make Koujaku's thoughts freeze in their tracks. 

For a brief moment he simply stood there, unable to believe—or rather, not  _daring_ to believe—his ears, even though he had that voice over and over again, and had grown intimately familiar with that quiet, husky tone. 

_He couldn't possibly be here._

_...could he?_

Very carefully, he unwound Ueda's arms from around his neck and gently set her down on her feet, before he straightened and turned to face the owner of that voice.

He blinked. Stared.

It took a lot of effort to not let his jaw drop.

Noiz looked... _different_.  Gone was the ridiculous costume that Noiz liked to wear, with its many layers and pointless, childish accessories. Instead Koujaku found his eyes drifting over a three-piece suit made of what looked like  _very expensive_ silk. A _bespoke_ suit, given the way the jacket fit so well around Noiz's shoulders and the almost exact half-inch of shirt cuff peeking from the jacket's sleeves, and Koujaku bet that if Noiz had bothered to button it properly, it would have draped over his body perfectly. Noiz's face was devoid of piercings, making him look simultaneously younger and yet more mature-looking, and even the mop of strawberry blond hair had been styled neatly.

It made quite the attractive picture, to see Noiz cleaned up so nicely.

What was significantly less attractive was the dark scowl on Noiz's face, and the venomous look in his eyes as he glared at Ueda.

Oh. 

Koujaku wasn't sure how long Noiz had been standing there, but given that Ueda was practically hanging off him earlier from her over-enthusiastic hug...

He inwardly grimaced, even as he summoned a bright smile to his face. Yeah, they definitely made a very suspicious-looking picture earlier.

"Noiz!" he said in greeting, making sure to infuse that word with all of the warmth he felt; not a difficult task, given how he had felt something in him just light up at the sight of Noiz, even while he realised the impending trouble as Noiz's eyes grew more and more chilly with each passing heartbeat. "I wasn't expecting to see you here at all! Ueda-san was just telling me about her upcoming wedding," he said, at the same time he looked at Ueda and widened his eyes. 

"Wedding?" Noiz echoed, sounding completely unconvinced, still not taking his eyes off Ueda.

Thankfully, Ueda seemed to have noticed the hostile undercurrent—hard not to, given how fierce Noiz's glare was—and instantly understood the unspoken plea in Koujaku's own eyes. "Oh yes!" she said, her head bobbing up and down quickly. "My usual hairdresser cancelled on me at the last minute, you see, and the wedding is only two days away. I had hoped that Koujaku-san would be able to help me instead, and I am so glad that he can! He's always so busy, you know, I wasn't sure he was available for the day itself. It's so hard to find hairdressers these days who know how to do traditional styles, and Koujaku-san is one of the few who can do it well. It would have been so embarrassing otherwise, I have no idea how to even try to put my hair up in a simple bun, much less something.so elaborate."

Noiz's face had smoothed out while Ueda was speaking; he looked taken-aback, and Koujaku could see something like doubt flicker in his eyes. But the hostility from earlier was gone, and Koujaku let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Ah," Noiz eventually said, when the torrent of words ended. "I...see." He blinked, looking unsure, before he inclined his head. "Congratulations on your wedding." 

Ueda beamed, and Koujaku stifled a laugh as Noiz's eyes widened, and a hint of a blush appeared on his face; Ueda was a truly beautiful woman, and when she smiled with the full force of happiness like she just did, she was positively blinding; clearly even Noiz wasn't immune to her charms. "Thank you very much," she said, bowing. "I apologise for the intrusion, really." She turned to Koujaku and bowed again. "Thank you again for agreeing to such a spontaneous request, Koujaku-san."

"It's no trouble, Ueda-san" Koujaku said, matching her bow. "I am honoured to be able to help make you look your best for your important day. Your husband-to-be will be swept off his feet, I'll make sure of it."

"Now that would be quite the sight." Ueda giggled. Her smile turned coy. "But I've taken enough of your time, Koujaku-san. I'll see you at the appointed time."

Koujaku smiled back, saying nothing when Ueda left. He waited until she had walked out of earshot before he took a deep breath to compose himself and turned to look at Noiz.

Noiz was staring at the ground, clearly discomfited now that he had no reason to be jealous—and wasn't that just cute, Noiz getting into a pique of jealousy like that? Koujaku smiled even more broadly, noting with a great deal of amusement that Noiz was attempting to hide the giant bouquet of roses behind his back.

Roses? Really? It was charmingly romantic, although Koujaku had never imagined himself to be on the receiving end of such a gift. It's the sort of thing that a man of good taste would give a woman, but he supposed that such roles wouldn't be so clear, since they were both men.

But Koujaku wasn't really concerned about such things at the moment. Of significantly more  _urgent_  concern were the confused—and increasingly hostile—glances from the people around him toward the rude stranger who had shouldered his way into their midst. Judging from the way Noiz's eyes flickered from side to side, and his free hand had started flexing, he was noticing how many glares were directed his way, and he had started preparing himself for a fight.

Koujaku resisted the urge to sigh and approached Noiz. Of course Noiz would automatically get defensive; the brat probably didn't know how to react otherwise. But Koujaku wasn't about to let a fight happen, not on his watch.

This needed diffusing, fast. And the fastest way to do it was to act as if Noiz's appearance was expected and welcome.

He had not wanted to reveal the status of their relationship in such a public way, but given that Noiz had made such a  _dramatic_ entrance...

"Are those for me?" Koujaku asked. Without waiting for Noiz to respond, he deftly took the bouquet out of Noiz's hands, and made a great show of lifting it up to his face so he could breathe in the fragrance of the roses; a little dramatic, maybe, but it definitely caught the attention of the curious onlookers that were watching Noiz earlier.

He ignored them, keeping his eyes steadfastly fixed on Noiz, and had the pleasure of catching Noiz's face going slack with shock for the briefest of moments, before something that was a lot like Noiz's usual mask of blank indifference snapped back into place.

Noiz's eyes had never looked so warm before, however.

"Do you like them?" Noiz asked. 

Koujaku ran a finger over the edge of a velvety petal, and allowed his smile to grow more genuine. "I love them," he said, and meant it. He gave Noiz a broad grin. "Although I have to ask, what did I do to deserve such an extravagant gift?"

The heads of the crowd collectively swiveled towards Noiz, who only blinked at Koujaku before his eyes slid away to one side.

Koujaku raised his eyebrows. Was he just seeing things, or were Noiz's ears starting to turn pink?

"It's nothing special," Noiz muttered, one shoulder lifting up in a half-shrug. "Saw them in a show window, thought that they were pretty like your eyes, so I got them for you."

Now it was Koujaku's turn to blink, and he brought the roses closer to his face in a half-hearted attempt to hide the warmth he could feel blooming across his cheeks. He was distinctly aware that he probably looked like a love-struck teenager, given the scandalised gasps from the girls in the crowd, but he felt awkward and tongue-tied all of a sudden.

Seriously? What sort of person just threw out compliments like that? And why did such bald-faced honesty manage to make Koujaku feel like his heart tripped over itself? He was far too experienced to act like a high-school student on the receiving end of a confession, it really was ridiculous that he could be so affected like that. 

_Because it's Noiz_ ,a voice in his mind whispered.  _Because you actually care about how much those words mean._

Then he heard the sound of footsteps, and he looked up just in time to see Noiz advance on him, looking oddly determined. He only just managed to drop the bouquet to one side before Noiz stopped right in front of him, so close that the roses might had been crushed if he had still been holding them up in front of him. 

Noiz reached out and pressed his hand to the side of Koujaku's face, thumb brushing over his cheek.

Koujaku felt his mouth go dry. The gesture was  _weird_ , possessive and propriety despite the gentleness of the touch, but something about it combining with the look in Noiz's eyes—sharp and intense, as if all of his attention had narrowed its focus to Koujaku alone—sent a bolt of heat lancing from his heart down to his groin. 

Judging from the slightly raised eyebrow and the smirk curling the corners of his mouth, Noiz had noticed how much it had affected Koujaku.  _Shit._

But instead of making some imprudent comment, like Koujaku expected, Noiz only asked: "What time do you get off from work?"

Koujaku stared down at Noiz, a little surprised by the sudden turn in conversation, but the question appeared to be serious, and Noiz looked like he was expecting an answer, so he swallowed past the lump in his throat, and managed to reply without his voice turning into an inelegant croak. "Ah...around seven, I think, assuming there are no emergencies or sudden appointments I have to attend to. But I can finish early if I wanted to."

"Hm. That's convenient. Benefits of being your own boss, I suppose." Noiz tilted his head. "Would you like to go out for dinner with me, tonight?"

Koujaku heard another collective gasp from the crowd, and the whispering increased in volume, but they were all background noise at this point, with the way Noiz caught and held his attention like this. He ignored them, raising his eyebrows in question instead. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

A flicker of annoyance passed over Noiz's face. "What do you think?" Noiz paused for a beat, before he smirked. "Assuming that you do. Think, that is."

"Don't be rude, brat," Koujaku scolded, without really thinking about it, but the familiarity of Noiz's insults made it too easy to respond, and he knew that his voice lacked any real heat. He sighed, only partly for show, and smiled. "Ah, well, if that is what you want, I'll go out with you."

He kept his smile and his gaze focused on Noiz, even when the crowd started shrieking. Most of the girls didn't seem angry or disappointed, however; they seem to be watching with avid fascination, and some of them had even pulled up the camera apps on their Coils and started recording. 

Noiz wasn't that good at keeping a poker face; he turned to stare at the Coils recording them, before he looked up at Koujaku, a bemused frown on his face. "Is this sort of thing  _normal_  for you?" he asked quietly, soft enough that only Koujaku could hear him.

"Err." Koujaku shrugged and smiled even more broadly, hoping that it hid his discomfort. "Not really, no, but I suppose that this is something of an  _unusual_ occurrence, given my previous reputation, and choice of partners."

"Is that so," Noiz said, his tone flat. His face turned pensive, and Koujaku stiffened at the speculative glance Noiz made towards the cameras. But before he could question Noiz about that, Noiz stepped even closer, until they were practically chest-to-chest, and then Noiz's mouth slotted over his, wet and hot and demanding, a tongue trailing over his lips.

The shrieking reached ear-splitting volumes.

Koujaku froze, too startled to even begin to respond, but just as sudden as it had started, Noiz broke the kiss, stepping back and away, licking his upper lip like he had just eaten a tasty treat.

"Dry," Noiz commented. "Any drier and your lips would crack. You should get some lip balm."

Koujaku felt his face heat up, embarrassed by the sudden kiss, and irritated by the clinical-yet-rude observation. Not trusting his own ability to come up with a coherent reply, much less a diplomatic one, he could only give Noiz a sharp glare.

Noiz smiled, looking impossibly smug and self-satisfied. "It's a date, then. Be ready by eight; I'll see you at your place later." With a casual wave, he turned on his heel and walked away with a jaunty swagger.

_That cheeky, arrogant little shit._

Koujaku clenched his fist around the mostly-forgotten bouquet still in his hand, half-tempted to throw it at the back of Noiz's head. But he restrained the urge; the flowers really were beautiful, and it would be a waste to ruin them on such a selfish action. 

Then the girls swarmed him, questions and congratulations coming at him from all sides, and for a long while Koujaku was too preoccupied to even question how Noiz even knew where to find his home later. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really do think that Koujaku would be the sort to notice good tailoring, even if it's for a Western-style outfit. It's super useful for a businessman to be able to gauge how deep their clients' pockets were xD


	4. Koujaku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Koujaku fully realises (and has a minor freak-out over) just how deep his feelings for Noiz are, and Noiz decides that Koujaku needs a bit of a push past his doubts and fears.

"Yo! Koujaku! Are ya just gonna stand there all night or what?"

"Quiet, Beni," Koujaku murmured, half-distracted as he stared into his open wardrobe.

It was a few minutes before eight. Standing in his bedroom with only a pair of trousers on, Koujaku found himself to be in a bit of dilemma. 

He had ended business early for the day, somewhat reluctantly; it had become clear over the day that word of Noiz and Koujaku's little "confrontation" had spread, and Koujaku had been receiving a ton of congratulatory messages, both in person and via e-mail. It was rather touching, if a little disconcerting, to realise just how many people actually took a moment of their time to send nice words to him. His customers eventually told him that he should go home early "to prepare for his date", and while it was embarrassing to be subjected to so many teasing winks and indulgent smiles, he had to admit that he felt relieved to be able to go home early and get a rare moment to rest. 

Except he had not counted on the fact that, stuck at home an hour early, his mind started wandering during the free time, and it hit him that he had still not told Aoba about his new relationship with Noiz. And he knew that Aoba would eventually hear of it quickly, given how fast the news travelled along the grapevine, and they had plenty of mutual acquaintances who may eventually just comment on it unknowingly.

It meant that Koujaku could no longer afford to delay informing Aoba, or he'd risk hurting Aoba's feelings.

But how was he going to even begin explaining all of it? Despite the strength of his own feelings, it still felt miraculous and strange that he could even have a  _civil_ relationship with Noiz, much less a romantic one. Would Aoba even believe him?

And then there's the question of  _how_ he should introduce Noiz to Aoba. Did Noiz consider them to be boyfriends? Koujaku had tentatively started thinking of Noiz as his, since he had told Mizuki about their relationship, but telling Aoba about this made it seem more... _permanent_ , somehow. He'd never introduced any of his previous girlfriends to Aoba, temporary as they were; introducing Noiz would break that particular pattern, and Aoba would notice that immediately, but Noiz would likely not realise the significance of that.

It would mark this as Koujaku's first proper, committed relationship, at least in Koujaku's own mind. And that was what paralysed Koujaku with indecision. Because he wanted it, badly, but did Noiz want that as well?

They'd been talking to each other for a few months now, and they'd even had phone sex, but was that enough for Noiz to call this a real relationship? 

The doorbell rang, jolting him out of his thoughts. He looked down at himself, abruptly reminded that he was still shirtless, but the doorbell rang again, and he decided that it can't be helped if he opened the door half-undressed. 

There was only one person who could possibly be on his doorstep at this time of the day, anyway, and it wasn't as if Noiz had not seen his tattoos already. 

Koujaku had half-expected Noiz to show up in another suit, and he was pleasantly surprised to see Noiz had dressed down a little, wearing a pale green jumper over his shirt and tie instead of the waistcoat-and-jacket combo, and he'd changed into a pair of slim-fit trousers. Koujaku found himself smiling as his eyes drifted over Noiz's body, appreciating how the clothes hugged close to Noiz's body and emphasised his lean frame. The "businessman" look was a handsome one, but something about  _this_ look made Noiz look...softer. More approachable, somehow. More vulnerable. It made Koujaku want to wrap his arms around Noiz, and bury his face into Noiz's unruly hair while he held that slim body close to his own. 

Noiz shifted in place, drawing Koujaku's attention back to his face, and Koujaku smiled wider at the suspicious glare that Noiz was giving him. "What is it?" Noiz muttered. 

"Oh, it's nothing bad," Koujaku said, his tone reassuring. "I'm simply couldn't help appreciating your good looks, is all."

Noiz's eyes widened, and his face instantly went pink in the cheeks, making Koujaku laugh. "Shut up," Noiz said, his shoulders hunching up, as if he was trying subconsciously to curl in on himself. "Do you even hear the things that come out of your mouth? It's embarrassing."

"I'm just telling the truth," Koujaku mock-protested, but he decided not to comment any further than that. He stepped back and opened the door wider. "Come on in. I just need a moment to put on the rest of my clothes; you might as well wait inside."

Noiz eyed Koujaku's torso as he stepped into the genkan and took his shoes off. "Did you end work late or something?"

"Ah..." Koujaku felt his face start to grimace, and he quickly covered that up with a chuckle. "No. I just got distracted by...I got distracted."

Noiz stared long and hard at him, and Koujaku smiled, shook his head. "It's fine, really."

Noiz's eyes narrowed, and his expression seemed to say "I don't believe you", but Noiz remained silent and walked further into the living room instead, his eyes flicking over the furnishings in blatant curiosity.  _  
_

Ah, that's right. This was the first time Noiz had seen his home.

"Huh." Noiz turned slowly on the spot, studying Koujaku's living room. "...not quite what I expected."

Koujaku snorted. "What did you expect?"

"Don't know. Something more basic, I guess." Noiz shrugged, giving Koujaku a sideways glance. "It's very nice. Very traditional, but it suits you."

That...Koujaku blinked, unsure of how to react at first. It sounded like Noiz was genuinely praising the aesthetics of the room, which Koujaku did not expect him to say. He didn't even think that Noiz would notice that sort of thing.

In the end he decided to take it at face value, and smiled broadly. "Ah, well, this isn't how a really traditional Japanese home is supposed to look, but it's expensive to actually try to imitate that style here on Midorijima. The mainland has far more extravagant examples."

"I'll take your word for it." Noiz flopped down on one of the couches. "Are you going to show me the rest of your house?"

The question on its own was innocuous; but Noiz was smirking, staring at Koujaku with half-lidded eyes, and the suggestive tone of his voice made it very clear _which_ room he was interested in seeing. Koujaku rolled his eyes and headed to his bedroom, making sure to walk past Noiz and lightly smack him on the back of the head, making him grunt at the sting. "Not  _now_ , you brat."

"Hmph." Noiz huffed, rubbing at his head. "What about later?"

"That depends on how well you behave," Koujaku replied airily as he stepped into his bedroom, shutting the door on the sound of Noiz's laughter.

"That wasn't a 'no'," Noiz called out, but Koujaku refused to answer, as his brain finally caught up with what he had just been doing.

Flirting. They were  _flirting_ , teasing each other like lovers would. They'd never ever talked like that to each other when they were restricted to conversing on Coil. And yet they were doing it, as easy and as natural as breathing, like they've been doing it for years.

Koujaku felt a little dazed by that revelation. It was just so, so  _strange_ , even while his heart fluttered in his chest like an overexcited butterfly with his wonder.

There was the flutter of wings, and Beni landed on top of the cabinet nearby. "Yo, Koujaku, is that the Ruff Rabbit kid out there?"

"Yup," Koujaku murmured, picking out one of his favourite shirts. Dyed a deep wine-red and made of silk, it had burnt a hole in his wallet when he first bought it, but it had never failed to impress his dates. He glanced at Beni as he shrugged it on. "You'll have to get used to him, he'll probably be around quite often from now on."

"Hah?" Beni tilted his head. "Since when have you made friends with that sneaky kid? He was a real jerk to you before, wasn't he?"

Koujaku laughed softly, just a little strained around the edges. "Yeah," he said, rueful. "But Noiz and I...well, we've settled our differences, so don't worry about it."

"Hmph." Beni puffed up. "He better not cause any trouble again. Tho' he ain't so bad, I guess. He did help you find Tae-san for Aoba, right?"

"...yeah, he did." The mention of Aoba reminded Koujaku of the dilemma he was facing, and he frowned to himself as he did up the buttons on his shirt. 

"Eh, if you want me to play nice, I'll play nice. I'm your partner after all." Beni walked closer to him, geta clacking on the top of the cabinet. "Hey, you goin' out with a pretty lady or something? Haven't seen you all dolled-up like that in months."

"Ah..." Koujaku glanced sideways at Beni, and mentally sent a silent apology to Aoba. It seems like Aoba would really be the last to find out about things. "I'm actually going out with Noiz."

" _Hah?_ " Beni toppled over sideways, as if the shock had weakened his ability to stand straight. "You're dating  _that_ guy?" 

Koujaku laughed, amused by Beni's theatrics. "Like I said, we've settled our differences. He's not so bad, once you get to know him."

"Tch. I'll be the judge of that."

Koujaku flicked a finger at Beni, sending him toppling over again. "Don't be rude. It's not like I can't take care of myself, you know."

Beni made a dissatisfied noise as he straightened up. "Yeah, yeah, if you say so. You know I've got your back if you run into any trouble, yeah?"

"I know," Koujaku said, running his finger over Beni's back and smiling when his Allmate preened with the attention. "Thank you, Beni. Can I trust you to watch the house for me?"

"Hmph! Don't underestimate me, of course I will! Have fun!"

 _Hopefully_ , Koujaku thought, as he left the room. He walked down the short hallway to the living room, but then he saw what Noiz was doing, and he halted on the threshold. 

Noiz had somehow managed to end up half-lying down on the couch, his torso propped up by the armrest, one leg stretched out on the seat and the other dangling off to the side. Several monitors flickered around him, and his fingers were dancing over a keyboard. Noiz appeared to be engrossed in whatever was scrolling across the screens, so much that he didn't even notice that Koujaku had came out of his bedroom.

Koujaku took in the sight of Noiz lounging so comfortably in his living room, as if it were his own home instead of Koujaku's. It should seem rude and imprudent of Noiz to treat his home with such familiarity, but Koujaku studied the calm, almost peaceful expression on Noiz's face, and found that he couldn't even summon a shred of annoyance. 

Noiz looked like he fit in here, in Koujaku's home, in spite of the bizarre contrast his holo-computer interface made with the traditional-looking furnishings. He looked like he belonged.

 _And I want him to belong_ , Koujaku realised, taken aback by the sudden flare of desire—the strength of it took his breath away. _I want to see him like this all the time, at home here, with me._  

_I want him to be a part of my life._

As if he was in a dream, he felt his body move, his feet carrying him towards Noiz before he consciously realised he was doing so. Noiz looked up just as Koujaku stopped beside the couch, and he waved a hand, screens vanishing away as if they were sucked into his Coil, but he didn't move to get himself up off the couch. "That took you a while. What were you doing in there, couldn't find the right clothes or something?"

Noiz's tone was acidic, but his eyes were soft, even as his mouth curved into a smile. Koujaku didn't remember Noiz being so expressive before he left for Germany. Koujaku found that he liked it, how Noiz could smile and laugh so openly now. He liked how Noiz's expressions remained fairly subtle even then, and that he still had that sharp, biting wit which kept tripping Koujaku up. He liked how Noiz had changed, and yet remained the same in so many ways.

He liked...

...

...no.

He  _loved_ Noiz. 

The shock must had shown on his expression; Noiz stared at Koujaku, and then frowned, pushing himself up so he was sitting up properly. "What's wrong?" Noiz asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

_More like I've just seen the truth in my heart, and it's so obvious that I wonder why I haven't seen it sooner._

Koujaku let out a sigh and smiled. It felt strained, and he knew it wasn't his best effort, but he didn't want Noiz to know just yet. Now wasn't the best time for such an important declaration, especially since Koujaku's head was still spinning from _that_  revelation. "Ah, it's nothing."

Noiz raised an eyebrow. "Didn't look like 'nothing' to me."

"For now it is." Koujaku sat down beside Noiz, close enough that their legs were touching, and he reached out, took Noiz's hand in his, lacing their fingers together. Noiz tilted his head, looking puzzled, but his fingers curled around Koujaku's hand, warm and accepting. The warmth of the contact steadied him, reminded him that Noiz was  _here_ , made the love he felt more  _real_ somehow, and he felt his smile ease into something far more natural. "I've been thinking, is all."

This time both of Noiz's eyebrows went up, and there was a lopsided smile accompanying them. "Oh? That's amazing. How does it feel to be able to use your brain for once?"

Koujaku narrowed his eyes in a glare. "Please don't do that now, I'm trying to be serious here."

"You make it too easy to tease you," Noiz retorted, but his face cleared into something more serious when Koujaku continued to glare. "Very well. I'll stop."

"Thank you," Koujaku said. He sighed, met Noiz's calm gaze with a sombre stare. "I want you to come with me, when I tell Aoba about us."

Noiz's eyes widened, and Koujaku hurried on, before he lost the nerve to do so: "I told you before, haven't I, that I don't want to keep you a secret? Aoba is my best friend; you can say he's my family, of sorts, we grew up together so he's almost like a brother to me. And I want to tell him about this. About  _us_. Because you've become someone I...um—" Koujaku felt his face heat up, and he cleared his throat, dropping his gaze to their joined hands, doing his best to ignore the anxiety he could feel churning in his gut. "You're...you've become someone important to me, and I want to show that to Aoba. I want to properly introduce you as my boyfriend. Ah..." He glanced at up Noiz. "That is, if you don't mind."

Noiz just blinked at him, his expression too blank for Koujaku to even begin to guess at what was going through his mind, and for a moment Koujaku worried that he'd gone too far, that Noiz would find it too strange. Was he going too fast?

"All right."

At first Koujaku thought he had misheard. Did Noiz just agree to him? Without even a hint of resistance?

"Really?" Koujaku asked, not daring to believe his own ears. 

"Of course." Noiz frowned at him, looking annoyed. "What, did you think I would run away or something?"

 _Ah._ Koujaku flinched and dropped his gaze again, unwilling to admit it, but unable to deny it either. 

A moment of awkward silence passed, with Koujaku staring down at nothing in particular, and he could feel Noiz's eyes practically burning holes, his stare felt so intense.

Then Noiz let out a sigh, and muttered, "You really are an idiot."

Koujaku stiffened. The words weren't particularly insulting, but something about Noiz's exasperated tone pricked at Koujaku's temper. But before Koujaku could even raise his head, he felt Noiz shift, and then suddenly the hand he had been holding tightened, and he was yanked up and off the couch, onto to his feet. He yelped at the abrupt movement, nearly falling on his face, but Noiz appeared to not care—instead he pulled again, practically dragging Koujaku over to the genkan, and they were already halfway across the living room before Koujaku recovered enough of his wits to dig his feet in properly and halt the awkward stumbling, forcing Noiz to stop and turn back to look at him. 

"What the  _fuck?_ " Koujaku tried to pull his hand out of Noiz's grasp, but Noiz only gripped more tightly, not letting go of him at all. "What are you _doing?_ "

Noiz stared at him, as if Koujaku had said something stupid instead of asking a perfectly reasonable question. "Taking you to see Aoba."

Koujaku felt his jaw loosen, almost dropping open in shock.

Huh?

They're going to see Aoba?

"Now?" Koujaku asked, his voice coming out in an embarrassingly high-pitched squeak. 

"Might as well." Noiz shrugged. "Aoba rarely goes out in the evening, if I recall his pattern correctly. He should be at home at this time." He pulled on Koujaku's arm again, and Koujaku snarled. 

"That's not—damn it, Noiz. Just hold on for a moment!" He shook his arm, and this time Noiz let go after a moment of hesitation, looking weirdly reluctant about it.

Koujaku sucked in a breath, willed his temper down into a slow simmer, and forced himself to speak slowly, calmly. "Why are we going to see Aoba?"

Noiz frowned. "You said you wanted to introduce me as your boyfriend, correct?" he asked. 

Koujaku knew he had said that, but somehow, hearing Noiz say those same words with a casual, matter-of-fact confidence made embarrassment rush up his neck and to his cheeks. "Ah...yeah," he muttered. "But why do you want to go  _right now?_ "

"Did you somehow forget about the cameras that were recording us earlier today?" Noiz asked. "You said that you haven't told Aoba yet. That was what was eating you earlier, right? That you haven't told Aoba, and you're running out of time before Aoba found out through the rumour-mill, instead of through you."

Koujaku stared at Noiz, startled and frankly a little amazed. He had thought that he'd hidden his unease well, but Noiz had managed to figure out his thoughts so easily. 

When had Noiz learned how to read him like that? 

Koujaku felt his lips twitch into an involuntary smile, and he let out a chuckle. "Was I that obvious?"

"No, but I know you well enough to make that conclusion. You are a remarkably simple man."

Koujaku blinked, and then frowned. "I'm not sure if that is meant to be an insult."

"It isn't an insult," Noiz sighed, and he lowered his head, looking down at the floor. "I'd thought...if you had any family on Midorijima, family that you were close to and that cared for you, I would have approached them long ago, and asked them to entrust you to my care. I did not really factor Aoba into it, until you mentioned that he was like a brother to you." Noiz raised his head then, and fixed Koujaku with a look so earnest that Koujaku felt like he was pinned down by it. "I want to be your boyfriend, Koujaku. I want to be with you. That is why I returned here, to be by your side. I want to make sure that the people who care for you know that I am serious about it. And I want _you_ to see that I am serious about you."

Koujaku didn't say anything in reply. Or rather, couldn't say anything, too stunned by Noiz's words to even begin thinking of the right words to say. Noiz had spoken so honestly and confidently, as if it was the most straightforward thing in the world to commit to a person like that. 

It was embarrassing, to hear someone speak about their feelings so openly, and yet, Koujaku couldn't deny that hearing those words, the sheer  _certainty_  in them, made his heart felt like it was literally swelling in his chest.

He felt... _happy_. 

Happier than he had been in a long, long time.

Raising a hand, Koujaku gently laid his fingers on Noiz's face, lightly tracing the fine planes of Noiz's cheekbone. He stared into the brilliant, bright green of Noiz's eyes, and knew that there was nothing to fear from Noiz, not in this. 

It still felt too early to say to Noiz that he loved him, but Koujaku didn't think that would last for long. He simply needed to wait for the proper time and place to do so.

And he was sure that, when he finally did, Noiz would likely say it back to him. 

"All right," he eventually said. He smiled, unreserved and unrestrained. "Let's go pay Aoba a visit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at this point you shouldn't be surprised that I am one of those people who is incapable of NOT writing fluff and sap into their fics xD


	5. Noiz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is talking between friends and family, and there is an invitation. In that order.

Aoba was indeed at home, just like Noiz had predicted. There was light shining out of the window on the second floor, where Aoba's room was, and Noiz remembered that Aoba did not leave his room light on when he wasn't home, based on that time he broke into the Seragaki house.

After knocking the customary two knocks on the front door, Noiz glanced sideways at Koujaku. Koujaku was staring at the door, seemingly absorbed in thought, and while he didn't quite fidget, he'd raised an hand and was tugging on the ends of his fringe.

Noiz watched this for a few moments, before asking, "Are you nervous?"

Koujaku jolted, visibly startled, turning wide eyes to Noiz before he let out an uncomfortable-sounding laugh. "Ah, yeah, I suppose I am." His smile was a small, wry thing, just a slight lift on the corners of his lips. "Do I look nervous?"

Noiz didn't say anything. Instead, he reached up and gripped around Koujaku's wrist, before gently pulling Koujaku's hand down, away from his hair. 

"Ah." Koujaku grimaced. "Sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for." Noiz rubbed his thumb in circles on Koujaku's wrist, hoping that the small touch was soothing. "You know, we don't actually have to do this now, if you don't want to."

Koujaku frowned, and shook his head. "We're here already, aren't we? I'm not turning back now. And as you said, news would reach Aoba eventually, so there's no point in delaying."

"Hm." Noiz smiled. "If you say so." He tilted his head. "Do you want a good-luck kiss to settle your nerves, then?"

Koujaku rolled his eyes, but even though his face was only dimly lit by the porch light, Noiz could see his face flushing. And he didn't pull back, nor did he shake Noiz's hand off.

Smirking, Noiz leaned in, intending to give Koujaku a quick kiss.

Just as their lips were only a hair's breadth away, Noiz heard the latch on the front door turn.

He immediately pulled back, just as the door slid open, and Aoba blinked at them.

Koujaku had gaped at Noiz when Noiz had abruptly stepped away and released his wrist, but the moment he realised that Aoba had opened the door, he quickly recovered and turned to Aoba with a broad smile. "Yo, Aoba!" he said cheerfully, raising a hand in greeting. 

"Hey," Aoba said, as if on automatic. He looked a little surprised, but then his gaze slid to Noiz, and Noiz saw Aoba's eyebrows go up. "...Noiz?"

"Yo," Noiz said.

Aoba stared at him, visibly at a loss on how he was supposed to react. Not a strange reaction, Noiz thought with some degree of amusement. Aoba had been thinking that Koujaku and Noiz still felt animosity toward each other, after all. For the two of them to show up on Aoba's doorstep without looking hostile  _would_ seem incredibly strange to him. 

Koujaku cleared his throat, before the staring became too awkward. "Ah....pardon the intrusion, Aoba, but I was wondering if we can come in?"

"Hm?  _Oh._ Yeah, sure, come on in." Aoba stepped back and opened the door wider, allowing them to walk past him. "Are you looking for something to eat? Granny isn't in today, she's busy at a neighbourhood association meeting, but I can make something."

"That's not necessary," Koujaku hurried to say. "This is just a short visit. I came to talk, is all. It's about..." His eyes darted briefly to Noiz, before he turned a smile on Aoba. "Well, it's about something important. But it won't take too much of your time."

Aoba clearly did not miss that quick glance, given the puzzled look he levelled at Noiz. Noiz ignored Aoba's increasingly suspicious expression, deliberately focusing his attention on taking off his shoes. He wasn't about to explain Koujaku's nervous behaviour to Aoba, especially since it wasn't really his place to do so. He may had been the one to suggest to Koujaku that they immediately explain their changed relationship to Aoba, but Noiz liked to think he knew Koujaku, and Koujaku was a stubborn bastard when he wanted to be. If Koujaku didn't want to do something, he would fight tooth and nail to avoid doing it. 

And this was something that Koujaku clearly  _needed_ to do, despite the fact that he needed a bit of pushing. Noiz distinctly remembered the resigned but determined-looking expression that had formed on Koujaku's face after he had knocked on Aoba's front door, and seeing that, Noiz had resolved to let Koujaku decide for himself how this talk should go, without his interference. The last thing he wanted to do was influence how Koujaku should be talking to his childhood friend.

Noiz had expected Aoba to lead them to a neutral space like the living room or kitchen, but surprisingly Aoba went up the stairs instead. Did he really expect them to follow him to his bedroom? It would had made sense if Koujaku had came alone, but Noiz was here as well, and he knew he wasn't as close to Aoba as Koujaku was. Was this truly all right, for Aoba to willingly let him into such an intimate space?

Noiz raised his brows at Koujaku, but Koujaku only smiled and shrugged. "Don't think too hard about it," he murmured in a low voice to Noiz. "Just relax."

Noiz glared. "I could say the same to you. You're acting very stiffly."

Koujaku laughed softly and shook his head. "Like I said, don't think too hard about it," he replied.

Noiz let out a sigh, but said nothing, dropping the subject, silently following Koujaku up the stairs and to Aoba's room.

The room was virtually identical to how Noiz had remembered it. Small, cramped, clean and yet full of junk, complete with the huge old-fashioned computer in the corner. Aoba sat down at the low table he kept in the middle of the room, his back to the bed, and Koujaku sat opposite Aoba, but off-centre, leaving just enough space beside him for Noiz to sit down. Noiz hesitated at the entrance, feeling a little uneasy; it was one thing to sit beside Koujaku in the private, or to kiss him in front of a crowd of strangers. But somehow, revealing that kind of closeness in front of Aoba was a little strange, for some reason. It felt  _significant_ , somehow, although Noiz didn't understand why. 

Koujaku smiled, and patted the space beside him. "Come on. You're acting shy  _now_ , after what you already did today?"

Noiz frowned at the faintly-challenging light in Koujaku's eyes. "I'm not being shy," he muttered, as he quickly closed the distance and sank down beside Koujaku, far too aware of how Aoba's eyes flicked between the two of them. 

"Yes, you are," Koujaku said, bright and cheerful. "It's all right, though. You're very cute when you're being shy." 

...cute?

Noiz glared at Koujaku, and the jerk only laughed. Noiz clenched his fists in his lap, sorely tempted to throw a punch at Koujaku's stupid smiling face. 

"Uhm..."

The little interjection was quiet, but it might as well be a shout; Koujaku visibly tensed up, before he turned back to Aoba, his face growing solemn. 

Aoba was frowning now, but it wasn't an angry-looking frown. He looked like he'd been slowly assembling the pieces of a puzzle together, but still couldn't quite see how they fit together as a whole. "Did something happen? You two aren't usually so...uh..."

Noiz raised an eyebrow at Aoba's hesitancy. "What?"

"Um...how should I put it...you two seem to have become friends?" Aoba grimaced. "I mean, I thought you two weren't on good terms, and that wasn't quite like your usual fighting." 

Noiz didn't say anything in reply; he slid a sidelong glance at Koujaku instead, wondering how Koujaku would answer that.

Koujaku let out a soft huff, something between a sigh and a laugh, before giving Aoba a slightly strained smile. "Ah...well, I suppose you can say that we've worked out our differences." He glanced back at Noiz, and this time the smile on his face turned into something indulgent and just a little sly, eyes going heavy-lidded. "I like to think that we've grown much closer, now."

Noiz felt his ears grow hot at the flirtatious tone in Koujaku's voice, and he looked away, refusing to meet Koujaku's eyes. 

He heard Koujaku clear his throat, before he spoke: "The truth is, Aoba, that you're not entirely correct. Noiz and I are not just friends." And suddenly, an arm wrapped around Noiz's shoulders, and he found himself abruptly pulled in, until he was pressed against Koujaku's side. "We're boyfriends, now."

Noiz blinked up at Koujaku, before looking at Aoba, just in time to see Aoba's face shift from from his earlier puzzled frown to wide-eyed shock.

" _Huh!?_ " Aoba's gaze dropped to where Koujaku's hand had firmly settled on Noiz's side, before he looked at Koujaku again. "Wait, what? Are you kidding me?"

"It's not a joke," Noiz said. He supposed it's all right for him to say something, now that Koujaku had finally told Aoba. He sighed, shifting so he could lean more comfortably against Koujaku, tipping his head slightly so he could rest it on Koujaku's shoulder. He could feel Koujaku tense up and inhale sharply, as if startled, but he ignored it, meeting Aoba's eyes instead. If Koujaku was going to hold him like that, he might as well do it properly. "This idiot here"—Koujaku made an indignant sound, which Noiz ignored—"has been agonising about how to tell you this, but we've been together since three months ago."

" _Three months?_  " Aoba's eyes widened, realisation dawning on his face as if he had remembered something. "Wait, Noiz, you mean when you told me that you came back to Midorijima to see your boyfriend, you were talking about  _Koujaku?"_

"Yes." 

Aoba stared at Noiz, still looking unsure. Noiz let out a sigh, straightening up so he can give Aoba a properly-earnest expression. "Do I look like I have a reason to lie to you about something like this? There's no point for me to play this sort of joke."

The doubt on Aoba's face cleared, and his mouth twitched in a quick smile. "Mm, that's true. I can't see you as the sort to play practical jokes." His gaze shifted, and the expression on his face turned into something like disappointment. "But really, Koujaku? Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

Koujaku flinched. "It's...complicated.  _Was_ complicated, I mean." He cleared his throat. "Remember that time when we were in Platinum Jail, when you said that I haven't really changed at all?"

Aoba frowned, and nodded slowly, looking a little confused, but open and encouraging. That seemed to reassure Koujaku, who let out a sigh and visibly relaxed, just a little.

"Well, I guess I was partially afraid of that. Change, that is." Koujaku laughed softly, a self-depreciating little laugh. "Stupid, I know. It's just that, I'd never thought I liked guys, you know? Not in  _that_ way, at least, the kind you'd call 'romantic feelings'. And I know that you know this, and you know I've fooled around with girls all the time, but never actually committed to anything. Truth to be told, I'd gotten used to having that image of being that sort of guy, someone cool and suave. And I didn't want to spoil that image, at first."

"At first?" Aoba echoed.

"Yeah. Then I... _we_ , Noiz and I, that is, we started to talk to each other, and I realised that he's not really what I thought he was, and maybe I actually like him, as a person. And we kept on talking, and those feelings deepened, and became stronger as time went by. Eventually I'd accepted that yeah, I guess I can find other guys attractive, and develop strong feelings for another guy, but I was afraid that it was one-sided, and I didn't want to get my hopes up." He turned to look at Noiz, and gave a smile that made something in Noiz's chest glow soft and warm. "But I'm not afraid of  _that_ , now."

Feeling abruptly flustered, Noiz turned his head away, although not so much that he couldn't continue to study Koujaku's face from the corner of his eyes.

Koujaku's smile widened, briefly, before he looked at Aoba again, and face sobered into something more contrite. "For what it's worth, I really am sorry, for taking so long to tell you. But I hope that you'll be able to accept this, at least."

Aoba studied Koujaku for a long time, his expression thoughtful, before he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, looking abruptly tired all of a sudden. "You know, Koujaku, you really are a hippo."

_Hippo?_  Noiz frowned, confused, but that seemed to have some meaning to Koujaku, who'd grimaced, eyes dropping down to where he'd clasped his hands together on the table. "Sorry."

"Oh,  _no,_ stop that," Aoba said, exasperated, making Koujaku glance up in surprise. "I'm kinda annoyed that you took so long to tell me this, but..." Aoba shook his head, and smiled. "You know, when you turned to look at Noiz, earlier, I can see that he's someone important to you, and he makes you happier than you'd been in a long while. I've never seen you have that look on your face, when you look at the girls you'd been with. I can tell that this is important to you, so of course I'd accept it, without question." 

Koujaku blinked, looking a little stunned, before he grinned. "Thank you, Aoba."

Aoba waved it off, attempting to look cool, except for the slight blush on his face. "Yeah, yeah, I don't even know why you were so hesitant about telling me to begin with, stupid." He looked at Noiz and raised an eyebrow. "Why did you even pick this guy, Noiz? Of all the people in Midorijima, you have to pick the most oblivious idiot around."

"Hey!" 

Noiz shrugged, and smiled a little. "I'm not really sure why, either," he said, deadpan. 

" _I'm sitting right here._ "

Aoba pursed his lips and made a show of looking Koujaku up and down, like he was appraising a piece of furniture at a shop. "Well, I suppose he's not bad-looking, I guess."

"He does have some use as eye-candy," Noiz said agreeably, while Koujaku spluttered in outrage. 

"You sure you couldn't have chosen someone less of a playboy?" Aoba continued, sounding completely serious. "I mean, I'm pretty sure that he'd slept his way through half of Midorijima's women, if not more."

"Why do you people keep talking like I can't keep it in my pants?" Koujaku asked plaintively. 

"Oh, don't worry about that," Noiz murmured, giving Koujaku an arch look. "I'll make sure to  _discipline_ him very thoroughly if he decides to stray."

" _What the hell is that supposed to mean?_ " Koujaku yelped, face going a fetching shade of red. At that point Aoba gave up on keeping a straight face, falling sideways while he laughed and laughed. 

* * *

Aoba eventually kicked them out of the house, saying that  _some of us have jobs and need to get some sleep_ , and they agreeably left. Noiz let Koujaku go out of the main door first, deliberately slowing himself down so he could turn to Aoba, and give him a bow.

"Thank you," he said. "For listening, and giving us your blessing."

Aoba turned pink in the face, and he waved his hands in agitation, as if he could somehow slap away Noiz's words. "Don't be all formal like that, geez, it's just too  _weird_ ," he complained. 

"Ah, is that not how one is supposed to treat their future in-laws here?" Noiz asked.

"In- _what?_  No!" Aoba blinked, as his brain caught up to what his mouth said, and grimaced. "I mean, yes, but—"

"Then there's nothing wrong with me doing so, is there?"

Aoba made a sound like a strangled cat, his face so red that it was almost purple. 

Smirking, Noiz stepped out, and closed the door after himself.

Koujaku had been waiting at the side of the road, looking weirdly troubled for some reason, but his face cleared and he raised an eyebrow as Noiz approached. "What was Aoba yelling back there?"

"Nothing," Noiz said. "Well, nothing important that can't wait."

Koujaku gave Noiz a distrustful look, but then he grimaced, his shoulders slumping down. "Sorry," he said. "This was supposed to be our first date, and it ended up being... _this._ "

Noiz snorted. _Seriously? That's what you're looking so depressed about?_  "Who said that  _wasn't_ a date?" 

"You had plans, didn't you?" Koujaku asked. "Pretty sure those plans don't involve a visit to Aoba. I must have ruined them."

"Plans can change," Noiz said blandly. "And I still haven't bought you dinner yet." The restaurant he'd made a reservation at would had undoubtedly treated them as a no-show by now, so that was not an option. He considered their location, the time, and the distance they needed to walk, before he shrugged and said, "Come over to my place."

"Huh?" Koujaku blinked. "Your place?"

"The apartment I'm renting isn't far from here." He brought up a few screens on his Coil, activated the appropriate scripts, before closing the screens. "I also know a place that makes really good Italian, and they deliver 24-hours a day. We can eat at my apartment."

"Oh, I don't want to impose—" Koujaku started, but Noiz just glared at him until he trailed off. Sighing, Koujaku shook his head and gave Noiz a wry smile. "You're not going to take 'no' for an answer, are you?"

Noiz didn't even dignify that with an answer. He simply inclined his head, and started walking towards his apartment. 

"This is a thing I have to get used to with you, huh," Koujaku said, falling easily into step beside Noiz. He sounded amused, if a little resigned. "Changing plans on a whim." 

Noiz rolled his eyes. "I never do things on a whim. I always think before acting."

"Sure doesn't seem like that to me," Koujaku muttered.

"Not my fault that you're just  _slow_."

"Hey, I'm not psychic. How should I even begin to guess at what you're thinking? Your face is all stiff like a mask, half the time."

"Or it could be that your eyes are failing from your advanced age, _and_ you're still slow."

Koujaku growled and slapped the back of Noiz's head. "Shut up and just lead the way, you damned brat."

Noiz rubbed his hand over the sting, and ruthlessly clamped down on the urge to grin. 

He did have plans, yes, and since a good portion of those plans involved inviting Koujaku over to his apartment, they weren't ruined at all, despite what Koujaku might think. 

The night was still young, after all, and Noiz had every intention of making this first date a memorable one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sneaky brat is sneaky, is all I'm saying.


End file.
